Phunumron Border crossing

[Freed1948]

I've just completed a border run from kanchanaburi.

Got a van from the Kanchanaburi bus station at 11-30 to the border [80 Baht]

After departing thailand Immigration there is a cafe next door where the girl does all the paperwork

including Thailand arrival departure cards.

For 960 Baht they take you across the border and handle the Myanmar side of things.

Bring you back to Thai Immigration which you handle yourself.

Got the same van back and was in Kanchanaburi at 3-45.

[gamesgplayemail]

hello, I previously read that the stamp costs 500 thb ? So why 960 ? Thank you.

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, gamesgplayemail said:

hello, I previously read that the stamp costs 500 thb ? So why 960 ?

The additional 460 baht is for transport to the Myanmar side of no mans land and back again.

[lincolnshire poacher]

6 minutes ago, gamesgplayemail said:

hello, I previously read that the stamp costs 500 thb ? So why 960 ? Thank you.

It's a bit of a trek from leaving Thaiiand to Burmese immigration and back, you could always walk. Lovely on a red hot day

[lincolnshire poacher]

Nice bit of excercise on a hot sunny day walking through no mans land watching the other folk being chauffered there and back in a van

[darrendsd]

11 minutes ago, lincolnshire poacher said:

Nice bit of excercise on a hot sunny day walking through no mans land watching the other folk being chauffered there and back in a van

And paying well over the odds for the privilege, 12 passengers paying well over 400 Baht each for a journey that takes about 7 mins each way, the minibus driver is getting well over 5k for each trip

[BritTim]

32 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

47 minutes ago, lincolnshire poacher said:

Nice bit of excercise on a hot sunny day walking through no mans land watching the other folk being chauffered there and back in a van

And paying well over the odds for the privilege, 12 passengers paying well over 400 Baht each for a journey that takes about 7 mins each way, the minibus driver is getting well over 5k for each trip

It is unclear how much the minibus driver actually pockets out of this arrangement. I am sure the franchise for ferrying people across no man's land requires significant payments on both the Thai and Myanmar sides.

 

That said, 460 baht for a short minibus journey is clearly excessive. It would be somewhere near a reasonable price from Bangkok.

[Iem]

Did this require a Myanmar visa sticker being put in passport ?

[darrendsd]

39 minutes ago, Iem said:

Did this require a Myanmar visa sticker being put in passport ?

No just a in and out stamp that takes up around a 3rd of a page

[darrendsd]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

It is unclear how much the minibus driver actually pockets out of this arrangement. I am sure the franchise for ferrying people across no man's land requires significant payments on both the Thai and Myanmar sides.

 

That said, 460 baht for a short minibus journey is clearly excessive. It would be somewhere near a reasonable price from Bangkok.

I;m aware that palms will be greased on both sides however if he makes 50% of that total and does 2 trips a day (in reality more than that) then he is doing ok

 

180 Baht in a minibus from Hua Hin to BKK, around a 3.5 hour journey,

 

460 for a total of 30 mins for the trip described once the stamps have been sorted out on the Myanmar side

 

Nice little earner they have going there,

[Briggsy]

2 hours ago, gamesgplayemail said:

hello, I previously read that the stamp costs 500 thb ? So why 960 ? Thank you.

Are you possibly confusing this border crossing (Kanchanburi) with the other Thai-Myanmar permanent crossings? It is 500 Baht (or 10US$) at Mae Sai and Mae Sot. However Kanchanaburi has been more expensive for several years now.

[gamesgplayemail]

So are we allowed to walk ?

 

 

[darrendsd]

2 hours ago, gamesgplayemail said:

So are we allowed to walk ?

 

 

I never saw a sign that said you couldn't however I wasn't looking for one

 

The minibus driver sorts the stamps out on the Myanmar side which I am sure they get a little extra for, if you just turn up at the Myanmar Immigration Office (Hut) alone then they may ask how you got there and may make things difficult

 

I would say it's at least a 30 min walk each way, although the minibus charge is to much it's not to much to walk for a hour and have possible issues

[edwinchester]

2 hours ago, gamesgplayemail said:

So are we allowed to walk ?

 

 

I asked that a while ago and was told no. As you have to go through a Burmese military checkpoint it would be very likely you'd be refused entry if you weren't in the 'official' transport.

[GroveHillWanderer]

When I used this crossing and before I realised how far the journey was, I asked if it was possible to walk and I was told no. Measuring it using Google Maps it's over four kilometres each way and on the way into Burma it's mostly uphill. According to their estimate it's a 50 minute walk just to reach the border and the immigration office you have to go to on the Burmese side is about another half a kilometre.

 

So I would say even if you could do it you're looking at a couple of hours walking, there and back but as mentioned, it's apparently not allowed anyway.

 

 

[Briggsy]

14 hours ago, gamesgplayemail said:

So are we allowed to walk ?

 

 

No.

 

There are military checkpoints. You are not permitted to walk.